Judges: Selection, Competence, Collegiality

On March 9, 2018, the highest officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and representatives of the international community assembled at the seat of the Court to welcome six newly elected judges and to bid farewell to the six who had concluded their term of office, including myself. In my then-capacity as President, I presided over their swearing-in ceremony, which, in accordance with the Rome Statute, must take place in open court. In my opening remarks, I emphasized that this ceremony, which takes place every three years, was an important moment for the institution. Six new judges were solemnly undertaking to exercise their respective functions impartially and conscientiously, something that embodies both individual and collective responsibilities. “Through renewal,” I said, “the institution ensures its continuity.”

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1 Panama initially nominated former judge Elizabeth Odio Benito, national of Costa Rica, for the term 2003-2012.

2 Proposals for candidates for the ICJ are made by a group consisting of the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration designated by that state, i.e., by the four jurists who can be called upon to serve as members of an arbitral tribunal under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. In the case of countries not participating in the Permanent Court of Arbitration, nominations are made by a group constituted in the same way.

3 See the Report of the Advisory Committee on Nominations of Judges on the work of its sixth meeting of October 10, 2017 (ICCASP/16/7), in which the Committee distinguished between “particularly well qualified ” and “formally qualified” candidates.